Sunday, September 28, 2014

I hate when a clever, cool band starts making music in Winnipeg and I don't hear about it right away, such as when I didn't hear about Cannon Bros. until way after the fact. Another one that fell under my radar is futurekids, who flirt with shoegaze and Britpop frames. Liquid, shimmering guitar lines play off reverb and echo to spare, leading to a dream pop that alternates between soothing and epic, tense and tightly wound and freely unfurled. Slightly reminiscent of another Canadian band called Conrad that few people heard about.
futurekids will shake off some gloom at a release show for "say goodnight to the machines" at the Windsor Hotel in Winnipeg on Saturday, October 18.

Check out the brilliant animated video for In-Service, painstakingly created by bass player/songwriter Nicholas Friesen.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

The Churchare back to slow down your heartbeat and perhaps change the speed of life. The band's 25th studio album entitled Further/Deeper is out October 17 in Australia and New Zealand, for the rest of us, who knows? First single Pride Before A Fall is by no means a departure, so if you have a hankering for the band's dreamy, endlessly diving guitars and shadowy, soaring vocals, here ya go.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Winnipeg's Warsaw is waiting patiently for you to download their demo, Record Lows, which is free or pay-what-you-will. A compelling blend of melodic scrappy punk (think Samiam) and sludgy, hooky-but-punishing alt-metal (Helmet), Warsaw rises above. And it should, because the musicians in the band (Darren Achorn/ drums, Josh Bedry/ guitar, Curran Faris/ guitar & vocals, and Ethan Osland/ bass) have all proven themselves in so many bands I'm not even going to start listing them, 'cause we ain't got all day.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Distances is releasing their new album Peaks/Valleys September 16, album release party September 13 at the Park Theaatre. Download Scenarios from Manitoba Music, but do it now, it's gone tomorrow! And remember, the album will be available everywhere you can stream and download music online on September 16.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

After more than 25 years, Scruffy the Cat are putting out a new album. OK, it's not exactly a new album, and the band doesn't exist anymore, but it's still previously unreleased music, which is an amazing gift from former band members as far as I'm concerned. You can pre-order from Omnivore records here, its out Sept. 16.

The Good Goodbye

Track listing

1. BIG FAT MONKEY’S HAT
2. THE BURNING CROSS
3. EVERYTHING
4. THE GHOST SONG
5. LOVER’S DAY
6. HAPPINESS TO GO
7. OLDEST FIRE IN THE WORLD
8. TIGER TIGER
9. LOST HIGHWAY
10. TONIGHT
11. SHADOW BOY
12. SLOW DOWN
13. MOMMA KILLED HATE
14. WELL… ALL RIGHT
15. RED LIGHT
16. I LIKE THE WAY YOU DANCE
17. THE DOCTOR SONG
18. SWEET NEWS
19. I KNEW THAT YOU WOULD
20. LOVE SONG #9
21. HOPE
22. PORCH FLAMBE
23. THE GOOD GOODBYE

Scruffy's entire catalog was recently released digitally for the first time. Time Never Forgets The Anthology (86-88) is available now, two albums and two EPs, lovingly collected for you.
iTunes

Friday, September 5, 2014

Winnipeg's Conduct are unleashing a stormy, desperate post-punk maelstrom. The album is entiled Fear and Desire, it's out November 4 on Public Tone, it was recorded by Steve Albini and is being mastered by Bob Weston.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Royal Canoe's newest video is a brilliant piece of work clarifying that Winnipeg is a land of potholes, bargain stores, parking lots, guard dogs, tanks, tributes to Louis Riel, and love. As a band that are becoming our ambassadors by default ( as The Weakerthans were for a while, and Propagandhi too!), it's one of the most perfect homages ever. Funny, odd, outdated and a little bizarre, the video is just like Winnipeg.

Here's a live version for ya, with real strings!

Royal Canoe is often doing something noteworthy, like performing Beck's SongReader (you can hear a few track here), and here's some video.

Button Fumbla (Live)

The band also does a truckload of shows. Yeah, they've played your town. Twice. Here's the next few dates, find the rest here, ya lazy bugger.

Monday, September 1, 2014

Winnipeg'sSlow Leaves(Grant Davidson) are (is) releasing a brand-spankin' new album entitled Beauty is so Common on September 6 at the West End Cultural Centre. Beauty is so Common should park Slow Leaves in the same field as singer-songwriters such as Ron Sexsmith and Scott Nolan, fellas that somehow manage to create fresh songs that already sound classic, gimmick-free and devoid of any need to be pigeon-holed into genres such as alt-country. Is it folk? Is it pop? Country? Who cares? My favourite tracks so far are Life of a Better Man, Neighbourhood Watch, and Second Chances.

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Disclaimer/Submissions

mp3s will be posted for a limited time and are for promotional purposes only. If you like it, buy the albums, go to the shows, buy the t-shirts - support the artist so they can keep on keepin' on. Artists - if you would like an mp3 or video removed, please contact me directly at chrisyakchart@hotmail.com.